Shikaku
Shikaku (シカク, Shikaku)Hunter × Hunter, Chapter 382 was a high-ranking soldier in the Royal Army of the Kakin Empire, and one of the personal soldiers of Prince Benjamin.Hunter × Hunter - Volume 35, Chapter 363 Appearance Shikaku had fair hair with a single lock falling to his forehead. He wore the standard Kakin military attire of zipper jacket, pants, and dark combat boots. He wore an earpiece in his left ear. Personality Shikaku was deeply loyal to Benjamin, to the point of being willing to confront Prince Halkenburg despite being terrified by the latter's overwhelmingly powerful aura. On that occasion, he proved himself capable of rapidly calming himself in a bind. Background As one of the First Prince's soldiers, Shikaku graduated from Kakin's Royal Military Academy and became a part of his army.Hunter × Hunter - Volume 36, Chapter 373 Plot Succession Contest arc Prince Benjamin orders his 14 soldiers to both act as bodyguards and spies to all the other princes, swapping shift with the guards working for Queen Unma, and to report any information regarding the Princes' Guardian Spirit Beasts and the Hunters' abilities. Shikaku is assigned to Prince Halkenburg.Hunter × Hunter - Volume 36, Chapter 375 On the second day of the voyage, Shikaku is frightened by the aura released by Halkenburg and his guards when they unite their wills to pray for Prince Momoze. He concludes that Halkenburg must be killed as soon as possible before he realizes the power of his Guardian Spirit Beast. However, fear of a counteractive Manipulation ability of the latter stops him from acting immediately. When Benjamin finally contacts him, Shikaku responds that he would need two more people to secure information before making his move. After the moment of prayer, Halkenburg leaves the room to appeal to King Nasubi. Shikaku and five other bodyguards accompany him. However, they are turned away by the guards at the VVIP passage.Hunter × Hunter - Volume 36, Chapter 376 Shikaku escorts Halkenburg to that same passage the next two mornings, but on the third, he is put to sleep by the prince's Guardian Spirit Beast before he exits. He is awoken by Benjamin's attempts to contact him, who informs him of Halkenburg's failed assassination attempt on the king and his resolve to win the succession contest. Shikaku runs into the returning Halkenburg and attempts to take his ability, but the latter's aura arrow pierces through him and the will of Sumidori takes over Shikaku's body. Since Sumidori cannot feel Shikaku's presence in the latter's body and his own is in a dormant state, Halkenburg comes up with four possibilities about what happened to Shikaku's consciousness: it could have been destroyed, resulting in his death; it has moved to Sumidori's body; it could be latent in his own body; it is somewhere or in someone else. To test the prince's theory as to how his power works, Sumidori, still in Shikaku's body, rings the doorbell of Prince Luzurus' room and, after shouting his praise of Benjamin, shoots himself in the head. Benjamin and Balsamilco immediately assume the act was due to an ability of Halkenburg's.Hunter × Hunter, Chapter 386 Shikaku is briefly mentioned during Rihan's monologue before Balsamilco transfers him to Prince Tubeppa. Abilities & Powers Shikaku has received military training. He has given proof of remarkable analytical abilities. Nen Shikaku was a Manipulator. He was proficient enough in the field to have created a Nen ability. He can also use Hatsu to manipulate himself so as to prevent himself from falling under the control of another Manipulator. His theoretical knowledge encompasses counteractive and symbiotic abilities, as well as the "first come, first serve" rule of Manipulators, which is not common knowledge, at least among the First Prince's private soldiers. Nonetheless, his superior Balsamilco fears that he is less knowledgeable than Hunters in the field of Nen.Hunter × Hunter - Volume 35, Chapter 364 Battles Trivia * Shikaku may be named after the omonymous puzzle, which would be in keeping with the game theme of his Nen ability. ** Shikaku's name also roughly translates to "four angles", which reflects his card-inspired Nen ability and the shape of his head. ** Additional translations depending on how his name is written are "blind spot" and "assassin". Intertextuality and References * The first name of Shikaku's Nen ability is derived from the strategy videogame ''Culdcept'', while the second is derived from the Japanese name of the [[wikipedia:Yu-Gi-Oh!|''Yu-Gi-Oh!]] franchise. ** The Viz translation explicitly acknowledged the connection by rendering the second name as "Yugioh". Translations around the World References Navigation zh:希卡庫 Category:Male characters Category:Manipulators Category:First Prince Benjamin's Personal Soldiers Category:Black Whale 1 Passengers Category:Deceased characters